Published Sep 29, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n Growing up in a border town was pretty cool, I always thought. We\u2019d pedal our bikes across the line into the U.S. to use the swimming pool in the neighbouring town or get a Dr. Pepper, two things we couldn\u2019t do in Gretna, Man., at the time.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Exclusive columns by Ryan Stelter, Paul Friesen, Ted Wyman, Scott Billeck, Lorrie Goldstein, Warren Kinsella and others. Plus newsletters: Gimme Stelter for your beat on the city, The Exit Row for all your Jets news and On the Rocks for curling.Unlimited online access to Winnipeg Sun and 15 news sites with one account.Winnipeg Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Account<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n It was a little different for Sergio Castillo.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Blue Bombers kicker was born in La Joya, Texas, located alongside the border with Mexico.<\/p>\n Being the son of Mexican parents thrust him into an environment most of us can\u2019t fathom.<\/p>\n \u201cLook at me, look at my colour,\u201d Castillo said, showing me the back of his hand. \u201cBrown. Growing up, you\u2019d be playing soccer in the park and border patrol would show up.\u201d<\/p>\n Young Sergio would tell his buddies to take off and let him risk being caught.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll stay in the back in case they catch us,\u201d he\u2019d tell them. \u201cBecause I\u2019m from here. It was just because of your colour, and that\u2019s just the way it is. When we cross the border I make my cousins drive, because they\u2019re more white complexions than me. It\u2019s the world that we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n The Winnipeg Sun’s Daily Headline News<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n For Mexican-Americans like Castillo, that world has darkened of late.<\/p>\n With a son of his own now, he can\u2019t help but worry.<\/p>\n The 34-year-old was taking his wife and son back home to Texas this week, as the Bombers enjoy a break in their schedule.<\/p>\n Before he left, we spoke about the shift that has seen agents from ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) sweep through communities, looking for and detaining immigrants deemed illegal and breaking up families in the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the scary thing,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cYou hear through friends and family. And it\u2019s just sad. Even myself. It\u2019s just because of my colour I can be stopped. Which is scary.\u201d<\/p>\n In his ninth year in the CFL, Castillo has earned a reputation as one of the biggest legs in league history.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n The product of West Texas A&M University shares the CFL record for the longest field goal, at 63 yards. He\u2019s also the first to make more than one from 60 and out.<\/p>\n And while he\u2019s not No. 1 for accuracy, he doesn\u2019t lean particularly left or right, politically.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not much into politics,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m more: \u2018Hey, why don\u2019t we just get together. Let\u2019s find a common ground.\u2019 What I\u2019ve been through in the past, what my family has been through because of my background, my colour, because my last name\u2019s Castillo \u2013 people don\u2019t know the struggle that people go through because of their colour, their background.\u201d<\/p>\n That struggle wasn\u2019t offset by many role models when Castillo was young. Pro football players who looked like him were few and far between.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cI remember looking for somebody that was brown in this platform,\u201d he said. \u201cVery hard to find.\u201d<\/p>\n That has changed a little over the last 10 to 15 years.<\/p>\n Now that Castillo has a platform of his own, even if it\u2019s not as big as the one he briefly held with the New York Jets in 2020, he takes to heart his position as someone Mexican-American kids might look up to.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s still kids that reach out to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a responsibility I take with pride. So now we\u2019re planting the seed. You see someone on TV that has your same ethnicity and colour, it gives a little bit of pride, a little bit of hope, \u2018I can do it.\u2019 And that\u2019s what I hope I give to my son.\u201d<\/p>\n Castillo has worn the mantle of his heritage through eight career CFL stops, including three stints with the Bombers, plus another two in the NFL and one in the XFL.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Seems he\u2019s always wearing a smile, too. A locker-room joker, he\u2019s as popular as anyone.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the great people in the world,\u201d teammate and punter Jamieson Sheahan called him.<\/p>\n When he hits the field in Winnipeg, though, he\u2019s dead-serious. He\u2019s not just kicking for his teammates and the 32,000-plus in the stands, he\u2019s kicking for a bigger audience, a bigger world.<\/p>\n \u201cMy family did a lot of sacrifices for me to be in the position that I\u2019m at. Me being first-generation, first-born in the States \u2013 I\u2019m a proud Mexican, and American. I represent both sides. I\u2019m glad to have been born in the United States. But I\u2019m deeply rooted in the Mexican heritage. I don\u2019t forget my colour. I have a cactus in my face \u2013 look at me.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cboth sides\u201d Castillo refers to have come together in him. But they appear to be drifting apart in his country.<\/p>\n While splitting the uprights is his job, he hates to see the growing split in society.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going,\u201d he said. \u201cUncertainty. That\u2019s where we\u2019re at. Let\u2019s put our agendas aside. Let\u2019s treat humans right.\u201d<\/p>\n paul.friesen@kleinmedia.ca<\/p>\n X: @friesensunmedia<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links SportsFootballCFLWinnipeg Blue Bombers Get the latest from Paul Friesen straight to your inbox Sign Up…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-178766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-canadian-football-league","11":"tag-canadianfootballleague","12":"tag-cfl","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Kicker](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ws20240703kk38-wp.jpg\")
Kicker Sergio Castillo hustles off the field at Winnipeg Blue Bombers practice on July 2, 2024. Photo by KEVIN KING \/Winnipeg SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Winnipeg](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/19.6.0\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-wsun-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
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